Likely H5N1 in Five Cullers in Murshidabad West Bengal
Recombinomics Commentary 19:29
January 21, 2008
All five are residents of Murshidabad, one of seven West Bengal districts to have been hit by the deadly H5N1 virus in its latest outbreak in India, and have been quarantined and administered Tamiflu - the most effective antibiotic against avian influenza.
Investigations revealed that the men had handled backyard poultry soon after the disease infected and killed birds. The outbreak has been traced to small pens maintained by individuals rather than large farms. The men reported influenza-like symptoms including fever, cough, sore throat and muscle ache.
Some of them are also suspected to be suffering from respiratory illness like pneumonia. A special team from the National Institute of Virology (NIV), Pune, collected blood and throat samples of the patients on Sunday.
The above comments describe five likely H5N1 infections in cullers in Murshidabad, West Bengal, India (see satellite map). Human cases are not a surprise. The H5N1 in India is likely to be similar to the H5N1 in Pakistan (clade 2.2.3).
In Pakistan, 10 people were laboratory confirmed, although WHO labs could only confirm one, due to sample degradation from multiple freeze thaws. In Pakistan there were at least two clusters, one of which represented the most sustained H5N1 human to human transmission recorded to date. The infections in Pakistan were linked to culling operations. At least four of the cullers or contacts developed pneumonia.
The development of pneumonia in some of the cullers is a strong indicator of H5N1 infections.
Therefore, confirmation of these cases is likely.
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